Reusable revolution: how reusable packaging equates to opportunity for companies willing to meet consumer demand
With e-commerce on the rise, recycling bins and trash cans across the US are filled with packaging and boxes from consumers’ favorite online retailers. In the US in 2015, corrugated boxes alone measured at 31.3 million tons of generated material while plastic measured in at 14.7 million tons.
Although much of this material ended up either recycled or incinerated, a large portion of it piled up in landfills across the country. Even with those numbers in mind, you don’t need to look at the stats to recognize that single-use packaging — whether made of paper, plastic, metal, or wood — is a huge issue in the US (and elsewhere).
But, is the single-use packaging issue a burden?
Or, is it a golden opportunity to deliver even greater value to customers?
With an increasingly large segment of consumers calling for reduced single-use waste, several companies — big and small — are already realizing the opportunity to deliver additional value to their customers by adopting and experimenting with reusable packaging and shipping containers.
Realizing the opportunity in reusable
As a leader in the movement, New Jersey based company, Loop, along with its partners, such as Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Walgreens, Pantene, and Haagen-Daz, see the opportunity in adopting reusable packaging and containers to deliver household goods — everything from hair products to mayo. Working with its partners, Loop delivers products from 41 household brands to customers’ doorsteps in durable containers packaged within a reusable fabric box.
Customers order products online or pick them up at either Kroger or Walgreens. And, when they run out of each product, the customer simply returns the reusable container — designed by each individual brand — to the reusable box the products arrived in together. Once the box fills up with empty containers, it returns to Loop. From there, Loop cleans and sanitizes the shipping box and each individual container for brands to refill with product.
Since launching its pilot program in the United States in May 2019, Loop reported a total of 60,000 people signing up for the company’s services, including 45,000 signatures from people living in cities Loop doesn’t yet offer services to. Numbers like that only indicate the increased demand for alternatives to single-use packages and products.
How by Humankind continues closing the loop
Like Loop, personal-care company, by Humankind, also sees the opportunity in reusable-containers. After first sending customers reusable containers and their initial refills for products like mouthwash and deodorant, by Humankind sends additional refills to customers for the products they use each month as part of a subscription-based replenishment model.
In a recent interview, by Humankind’s founder and CMO, Josh Goodman, told PSFK that getting customers to successfully adopt reusable containers boils down to a few factors.
- Containers, which live in the open in customer’s bathrooms, require a beautiful design for customers to want to keep them around.
- Reusable products need to cause minimal inconvenience or sacrifice to use compared to disposable ones.
According to Goodman, the subscription model itself also makes purchasing products in reusable containers easier for companies and consumers alike. Think about milkmen collecting empty bottles of milk and leaving refills each morning. Easy. And, for customers that don’t prefer subscription services, by Humankind gives consumers the option to purchase reusable individual products on an as-needed basis.
What reusable means for consumers & businesses in the end
For consumers, choosing reusable options gives them an actionable way to support the health of the planet by doing something they do every day — spending their money. As by Humankind’s, Josh Goodman says, “Just by getting ready in the morning, we’re (the customer) contributing in a positive way, not only for our bodies but also to our planet. If you’re a by Humankind customer, you are participating in this movement just by using our products.”
For the customer, knowing they’re helping the planet just by how they spend their money is an empowering feeling and, most importantly, it’s easy and causes minimal disruption in their lives.
For businesses, adopting reusable packaging, again, gives them a way to simply provide the value sought by their customers. As Emily Silver, VP of Innovations & Capabilities for Beverages at PepsiCo stated recently, adopting reusable packaging is all about keeping up with consumer demands and trends. As she said, “We’ll go where the consumers are and will give them solutions that work for them in their lives.”
In the end, yes, it will take money and investment for companies to meet this rising demand for reusables. However, for those willing to innovate and create new solutions that add value to the lives of their customers, the opportunities are endless. Luckily, doing so doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel either. It just means working smarter, not harder.
So, what can companies do to make the most of this opportunity and meet consumer demand? Start with these steps.
The Takeaway:
- Get up to speed on new options for packaging. Observe and consult with other companies. Borrow from other industries.
- Rethink products and packaging. What could be used in place of traditional elements? Would recyclable paper work better in place of plastic or could we ship items in a totally reusable container instead of a single-use cardboard box? Often, designing better means simplifying design.
- Rethink the supply chain. Ask about where there’s room for both modification and simplification. Again, observe and borrow from other industries. Companies all over are doing this successfully already. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Observe, build off existing knowledge, and modify innovations to best fit the needs of your company and its customers.
- Design in a way that makes customers’ lives easier. The less disruption caused by reusables, the more likely consumers are to adopt them and the more value you provide as a company.
Want to learn more? Feel free to reach out at any time. We would love to chat!
The above piece was written by Connor Beck in collaboration with Carter Jensen and the Latitude research team.
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Resources and original reporting of the above points covered by the following publications — PSFK, by Humankind, Environmental Protection Agency, Fortune
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